Colorless
by Pepsa
Summary: Scorpius Malfoy, renowned wizard actor, along with his beautiful co-star, Mariana Grey, is filming a movie at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Rose Weasley, Defense Against the Darks Arts Professor, seems to be the only one not fawning over the celebrities. Scorpius and Rose have a turbulent past and a turbulent present. Will Rose's life ever be colorful again?
1. Hollywood Meets Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: I do not own Scorpius or Rose or any other character or part of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

_**I wanna see it painted black, painted black**__**  
Black as night, black as coal**__**  
I wanna see the sun, blotted out from the sky**__**  
I wanna see it painted, painted, painted, painted black.**_

_Paint It Black_, The Rolling Stones

_**Chapter One**_

Rose Weasley was standing in front of her window, surveying the Hogwarts grounds. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground and she could see a wisp of smoke coming from Hagrid's hut, behind which loomed the Forbidden Forest. All appeared normal, as it had appeared since she had stepped into the school as a tiny eleven-year-old, except for the disturbance that was happening just beyond the grand staircase that led to the entrance of the castle. A horde of Hogwarts students and staff were excitedly craning their necks for a better view of the carriage that was slowly making its way toward the entrance. Rose watched as the carriage gently came to a halt. She could feel the anticipation in the air, even from her spot at the window, high above the throng of people, as the carriage door began to open. Out stepped an average-sized man, wearing glasses, whose thick, chocolate-colored, wavy hair was messy from the ride. After that, a beefy fellow with a shiny bald head stepped out and began to push the crowd back.

Now only two shadowy figures remained in the carriage, the two who were being most anxiously awaited. Unknowingly, Rose leaned forward until her nose was touching the pane of glass. Her breath created a light fog on the window. The first of the figures stuck out one long, perfectly toned leg. She wore black, four-inch-tall pumps. The crowd held its breath as the wavy-haired man gingerly took her hand in his own and she elegantly lifted herself fully out of the carriage. To Rose's dismay, the crowd went wild at the sight of Mariana Grey, the beautiful, world-renowned actress. She was tall and thin, but did not lack the curves that so many women envied, Rose included. She was wearing a gray, fitted pencil skirt and a midnight blue, long-sleeved, v-neck shirt that left little to the imagination. Her long, thick black locks were perfectly waved and the sun glinted off of them just right. Rose knew that her eyes were a perfect ocean blue.

The second figure in the carriage gave the crowd a few moments to admire the perfection that was Mariana Grey before beginning his own descent from the carriage. Rose felt her heart stop for just a second as the second celebrity was revealed. The crowd went even wilder as the most admired celebrity in the entire wizarding world stepped out of the carriage. Scorpius Malfoy was tall and muscular, but not too much. He had strong, aristocratic features and his platinum blond hair framed his face perfectly. His eyes were light silver and Rose knew that they could passionately express a huge range of emotions and were even sometimes a dark charcoal. He was dressed in perfectly-fitted dark jeans and a silver, button-up, long-sleeved shirt. He held out his arm for Mariana Grey and Rose felt the crowd sigh both in envy and at how beautiful the two were together. As they began to make their way toward the castle, Rose turned away from the window, pulled out her work robes, and began to prepare for another long day, but she couldn't shake the thought that her frumpy robes could never compare to Mariana Grey's tight pencil skirt and top.

Rose sat behind her desk as her class of first years began to file in. It was just her luck that she had been assigned first years in the morning for the whole year. She wasn't even fully awake yet but somehow she would have to deal with the rowdy group of Slytherins and Gryffindors. Rose looked at the clock and realized that it was time for class to begin. She stood up and looked around the classroom. More than half her class was missing. She was immediately alarmed, but her panic morphed into anger when she remembered the huge crowd that had surrounded the carriage out front just thirty minutes before. She opened her mouth to address the class, "Okay everyone; it appears that we are missing several students. Do any of you know where they could be?"

Maura Townsend raised her hand, reminding Rose of herself at that age.

"Yes Maura?" Rose asked.

"They are getting Mr. Malfoy's and Ms. Grey's autographs," the little girl stated.

Rose inwardly seethed. How dare those two interrupt her class like this! She had a lesson to teach and these kids needed to learn. It never crossed her mind that perhaps an exception could be made for the special event. The first years, after all, saw them as the beloved characters of their favorite films and they didn't realize the flaws in the characters of the two celebrities. Rose swiftly pulled out her wand and sent a quick patronus to Minerva McGonagall, the headmistress. After that, Rose began her lesson, focusing on the proper way to defend oneself against the charms of a veela. She thought of her Aunt Fleur and then of Mariana Grey. Perhaps the danger wasn't the veelas, but all the witches out there like Mariana Grey.

When she entered the Great Hall, Rose immediately noticed that it was decorated. The tables were covered with delicate silver tablecloths, all around were elegant silver and gold silk bows and everything seemed to be covered in glitter. There were bouquets of flowers on the tables, hanging on the walls and floating next to lights near the ceiling. Ignoring the elegance around her, Rose made a beeline for the Head Table. She took up her spot between Professor Longbottom and Professor Erica Edgeway, her best friend.

"Rose, you look like a hypogriff flew off with your lunch," Erica said lightly. When Rose didn't laugh, her face became more serious. "Don't worry, they'll be gone soon, just hang in there," she whispered to Rose. Rose smiled slightly.

"Why don't we have a girl's night out tonight? Lily and I have been dying to go to that new French boutique in Hogsmeade. We can make a night of it and grab something to eat afterwards at The Three Broomsticks. What do you say?" Erica offered.

"I say that sounds wonderful, I've been meaning to - ," but Erica never heard what Rose had been meaning to do because at that moment the Great Hall fell into silence as the large doors at the front banged open and in walked Mariana Grey and Scorpius Malfoy. The students went crazy and began to get up and ask for autographs. But Professor McGonagall's voice, magically amplified, stopped them.

"Students, sit down and please allow for Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Grey to make their way to the Head Table," she said calmly but firmly, causing all the students to hastily sit back down. Whispers began to spread throughout the hall. The two celebrities continued their march to the Head Table. Rose looked across to where Professor McGonagall was sitting and noticed two empty seats to the professor's left. Only Professor Longbottom and Hagrid would separate her from the celebrities. She sighed in defeat, focusing her thoughts on the night ahead and the laughter, and of course, firewhiskey drinking, that would ensue. She could get through this day. She was Rose Weasley, after all. She was the daughter of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, saviors of the Wizarding World, she had graduated top of her class at Hogwarts, had been a celebrated auror, and she was now the Defense Against the Dark Professor at Hogwarts. She had faced hardened murderers; she could certainly deal with Scorpius Malfoy and Mariana Grey.

But Scorpius was now at the foot of the table and when Professor McGonagall gestured at their seats, he noticed the red-headed witch just beyond. Their eyes met for moment, but it was a moment too long, causing Mariana to tug impatiently on his arm. Scorpius looked away and the moment was lost, but Rose realized that she would rather duel a thousand ex-Death Eaters than have to be anywhere near Scorpius Malfoy ever again.

**Author's Note:**

I am very new to writing FanFiction. I thought of this story idea and thought that I would give it a try. I hope you have enjoyed reading it. Please write me a review, as reviews are the best way for me to improve. I would really appreciate it!

Thanks for reading!

- _Pepsa_


	2. Butter Pecan Ice Cream

**Disclaimer: All characters and other parts of the Wizarding World belong to J.K. Rowling.**

_**Chapter Two**_

"Rose, could I have a quick word with you?" Professor McGonagall inquired from her place at the Head Table. Rose stood up and met the Headmistress behind the table so they could talk more privately. "Yes, Minerva?" Rose asked, still feeling strange about calling the Headmistress by her first name.

"I received your patronus from before, regarding your missing students. I was considering cancelling classes for the afternoon. What are your thoughts about that?" the Headmistress asked.

"Minerva, it is a Friday! There are only three periods left to the day. They will have the whole weekend to fawn over the celebrities. There is no need to disrupt the lesson plans we have carefully planned," Rose responded indignantly.

"Excuse me, if I may have a say," a voice interrupted them, "I don't think the students will be concentrating on classes, so you might as well cancel them."

Rose turned slightly to her right, glaring at the intruder. "Well, Malfoy, I don't think anyone gave you permission to join this conversation. You never did have any respect for plans, anyways," Rose hissed icily.

McGonagall quickly jumped in to bring the conversation back to normal, "Mr. Malfoy, I appreciate your input, but I do believe that Rose is right. There is no need to further disrupt the learning environment or the teachers' lesson plans when it will be the weekend soon anyways."

"Thank you, Minerva," Rose replied, then headed back to her seat next to Erica.

After her last class of the week, Rose headed back to her chambers. She let out a groan of frustration as she fell backward onto her bed. How could Scorpius Malfoy still cause her to lose her cool after all these years? She was twenty-five years old, surely she had more self-control. It had been eight years since she had really known Scorpius Malfoy. She thought back to when they had first met, all those years ago…

_Rose was ecstatic. She finally had a wand to call her own. After years of enviously watching her parents cast spells with ease, she would finally learn to do the same. Her happiness was evident in the tone of her voice as she chirped to the worker at the ice cream store, "I'll take a triple-scoop vanilla ice cream cone."_

"_Rose, don't you think that is a little too much?" Her father gently questioned from behind her._

"_Dadddd, I just got my wand! I'm going to Hogwarts soon! And I want a triple-scoop vanilla ice cream cone!" Ron Weasley's daughter replied in her very Hermione-like voice. She really was too much like her mother for her own good, Ron thought. And it didn't help that she had the fiery personality that so characterized her Aunt Ginny and Grandma Molly. Chuckling to himself, Ron Weasley ordered an indulgent triple-scoop turtle sundae and pulled out his wallet to pay for the treats._

_ Meanwhile, Rose was trying to pick out a seat for herself and her father in the crowded ice cream parlor. She spotted a small table in the back corner of the room. She skipped over and sat down. She noticed that a boy, who appeared to be her age, was sitting at the table next to hers along with a very pretty blond woman. The woman was staring at her but the boy was concentrating on eating his elegant butter pecan ice cream cone._

"_Hi," Rose loudly said to the boy, "I'm Rose Weasley. How old are you?"The boy slowly looked up from his ice cream cone and took in the confident redhead at the next table. After a moment's hesitation, he responded._

"_My name is Scorpius Malfoy, and I am eleven. I just got my wand from Ollivander's. I'm going to Hogwarts next year!"_

"_Me too!" Rose gushed, excited to have found someone who was just as happy as she was._

"_Did you know that at Hogwarts the ice cream magically refills at dinner?" Scorpius happily exclaimed._

"_Really?! My mother never lets me have an extra serving of ice cream after dinner! She says that is will rot my teeth out and then Grandpa and Grandma will have to pull out all my teeth." Rose explained._

"_But Hogwarts has magic ice cream! It won't hurt your teeth," Scorpius responded, causing Rose to giggle. The two continued to talk animatedly about their shared love of ice cream. Ron Weasley came over, disturbed to see his daughter chatting so freely with the young Malfoy heir. But he decided to be polite, for his daughter's sake._

"_Mrs. Malfoy, what a pleasant surprise. I trust your family has been well," Ron politely stated, reverting back to the manners that Hermione had been so keen to instill in him._

"_Yes, we have. We are just getting ready to send Scorpius off to Hogwarts. He is our only child, so we are rather distraught," Astoria Malfoy responded._

"_Yes, I know how you feel. Rose is our first to leave us. I am not looking forward to September 1__st__," Ron said. "Rose, we should be going," He said rather abruptly. He gently grabbed her small hand and began to pull the two of them out of the ice cream parlor, where they could enjoy their treats without the company of the Malfoys._

Rose sighed, remembering that encounter. Later that evening, her father had cornered her and asked her to come to his office for a quick talk.

"_Rose, I do not want you to get friendly with that boy from the ice cream parlor. He is not to be trusted. Do you remember the bedtime stories I told you?" Rose nodded. "Well, that boy's father is the one who called your mother nasty names and who always got your Uncle Harry in trouble. He's the one that your mother punched and your Aunt Ginny hexed. His family is dangerous, and it would be best if you stayed away from him," Ron finished._

"_But Daddy, his favorite food is ice cream and his wand has a unicorn hair core, just like mine! He can't be bad," Rose replied, not understanding the depth of the hurt that people like Draco Malfoy had caused her father._

"_Just stay away from him, Rose," Ron answered._

"_Okay," Rose said._

"_Good girl, now go on to bed, tomorrow is the back-to-school celebration at the Burrow," Ron said gently, kissing her on the forehead and sending her out of the room._

Rose had gone against her father's wishes from the moment she set foot on the Hogwarts Express. Looking back though, she wished that she had listened to him. Then she wouldn't be as bitter as she was now. Trying to ignore the regrets that were swirling around in her mind, Rose drifted into an uneasy sleep.

Three hours later, Rose woke up to a pounding on her door.

"Rose Weasley, get you arse out of bed! We are going to Hogsmeade and you are going to have a good time!" Erica's voice was loud, even through the heavy oak door. Rose groaned and pulled herself out of bed. She went to open the door for Erica. Her best friend was dressed in a very tight dress that didn't even reach halfway down her thighs. She had on tall stilettos and her face was covered in makeup, though it was applied tastefully.

"I thought we were just going to the new boutique and then to The Three Broomsticks," Rose stated.

"Not after how depressed you seemed today. We are going to The Fiery Dragon," Erica said.

"No! Last time I went to that club I ended up being the sober one who had to take you, Lily, James, and Albus home. I am not going to repeat that night," Rose argued.

"Of course not, silly! This time Lily and I will be the sober ones while you get drunk out of your mind from countless shots of firewhiskey. Now let's get you ready." Erica commanded.

Thirty minutes later, Rose was admiring herself in the mirror. Erica had done a nice job. Rose was dressed in her favorite slutty dress, complete tall high-heeled sandals. Her red hair was done in waves and her makeup was sophisticated to show that she still had respect for herself. She knew she looked good. Maybe not Mariana Grey good, but still good. With one last glance at the mirror, Rose turned on her heel to follow Erica out the door.

It was weird, Scorpius decided, to be back here. And to be here again with _her_. It brought back so many memories that he had been suppressing for the past eight years. He wondered when everything had gone so wrong. He also wondered why she was here. Last he had heard, she was an auror, a pretty famous auror too. It didn't seem like her to want to settle into such a calm job. She had always loved adventure and excitement. She'd picked up some pretty sneaky habits from her Uncle George and her cousins James Potter and Fred Weasley. He and Albus had always been reluctantly dragged into her schemes. Really, she should have been sorted into Slytherin. But he had always loved the exhilaration of successfully pulling off one of her pranks.

_"Come on you big babies, we have work to do!" Rose called to them. Albus looked at Scorpius with wide eyes. He knew that they were in for a rough night._

"_Bloody hell, Rose. It's only the third day of school. Dad will kill me if I get into trouble not even a week into my first year."_

"_Oh Albus, when will you learn that Uncle Harry is harmless," Rose laughed._

"_He's the savior of the wizarding world, he killed Voldemort!" Scorpius argued._

"_Al, Scor, we have work to do," Rose repeated. The boys had no choice but to follow her. They wouldn't hear the end of her taunts if they didn't come along with her. _

_ Scorpius and Albus followed Rose to the Room of Requirement. Albus knew that Uncle Ron was probably going to regret telling Rose about it. But Albus followed his best friend and cousin into the room. Inside, was just a single fireplace with a couch in front of it. Rose walked up to the fireplace and took a handful of Floo powder from the jar on the mantle. She tossed it into the fireplace and knelt beside it._

"_George Weasley," she stated, initiating the Floo call. After a few seconds, the face of Albus's Uncle George appeared in the dying embers._

"_Rose! My favorite niece, what can I do for you?" Uncle George's booming voice exclaimed._

"_I need some of those Granny Pops that you were testing," Rose responded._

"_I feel that as your uncle I should question why you are asking for them, but the product is harmless, we've finished testing, so I'm going to give these to you so that you can carry on the Weasley Twins' legacy at Hogwarts," George replied. A few moments later, Uncle George emerged out of the fireplace with a small box of lollipops in his hands._

"_Here you go, Rose. Make your Uncle George proud!" He ruffled her hair and jumped back into the fireplace to return home._

"_Okay boys, we can now begin our revenge. Revenge on whom, you might ask. Revenge on Mariana Grey, the queen bitch of Ravenclaw. She has messed with the wrong person. No one calls my best friend a scrawny specimen of Death Eater scum and gets away with it. And no one pushes that same friend down the stairs. She is going to pay. That fourth year has messed with you, and therefore she has messed with me and with Al. So here's the plan…"_

Scorpius remembered the outcome of that plan very well. It had been their first prank and no one had ever figured out that they were the culprits. Rose was good. She put on the air of being a goody-two-shoes Gryffindor, but Scorpius knew otherwise. She had the same fiery passion that the Weasley women were famous for. It was on that day, that he had truly come to admire that trait in her.

_ The next morning at breakfast, Erica Edgeway came over to where Rose, Scorpius, and Albus were sitting at the Gryffindor table and sat down._

"_Oh my gosh, did you guys hear what happened?! To Mariana? This morning, I woke up to a scream. I thought that someone had found a mouse in the Common Room again, but it was Mariana! She looks hideous! The other first-year Ravenclaws and I had to try not to laugh because we don't want to have to face her wrath. You guys are just going to die of laughter!"_

_ Rose let her eyes widen as she delicately put a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggle. If Scorpius hadn't helped her commit the prank, he would never in a million years have guessed that it was Rose who had done it._

_ A few minutes later, the doors to the Great Hall banged open and in walked Mariana Grey. The Hall fell completely silent as she made her way to her place at the Ravenclaw table. Scorpius looked over to Rose. She had her fist in her mouth and she was trying not to laugh. Mariana, so famous for her looks, had aged about eighty years. Her hair was now wiry and gray. Rose had found this effect of the Granny Pops particularly ironic, as her last name was Grey. She had shrunk several inches and her back was hunched over. She could only hobble pathetically to her table. She was also dressed in a musty, old, flowery dress and chunky heels. She was wearing glasses that were connected to a chain. She had a big, red leather bag. The effects of the Granny Pops were brilliant. Scorpius once again admired the genius of Rose's Uncle George._

_ The Hall remained silent until Rose let out a small bite of laughter. Scorpius looked over at her, and she seemed both horrified at the slip and relieved that she no longer had to hold in her laughter. Soon, the entire Hall was laughing at Mariana Grey. Scorpius couldn't remember ever having laughed so hard in his life. Even though he was scrawny and his features were pointy, and his eyes a watery gray, and his father was a former Death Eater, he knew that the next seven years would be wonderful with Rose and Al by his side._

Scorpius knew that he shouldn't indulge in his memories or he would feel the pain and regret all over again. But he couldn't help it. Especially here, with her very close. He got up off the couch in the chambers that McGonagall had given him and went over to the sink to splash some cold water on his face. He was supposed to meet Mariana and the producer at The Fiery Dragon very soon and he knew that he would need all the energy he could get.

**Author's Note:**

First of all, thank you so much for the lovely reviews! They made me so happy. Please keep reviewing! All the reviews help me improve. I hope that you guys liked this chapter, even though it was a little slow, but I wanted to provide you guys with a little more background information regarding Rose and Scorpius' relationship. The next chapter will have a little more action, as they will both be meeting up at The Fiery Dragon! Please review, I really, really appreciate it!

Happy reading,

-_Pepsa_


	3. Intoxicated

**Disclaimer: All characters, the wizarding world, and other parts of Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling**

_**Chapter Three**_

The Fiery Dragon was already filled with excited young adults by the time Rose Weasley, Erica Edgeway, and Lily Potter arrived. Rose did a quick scout about the club, keeping her eye out for both handsome young men and anyone she knew. She noticed Lorcan and Lysander Scamander in one corner of the club, her cousin Fred Weasley with Anna Finnigan in another, and Andrew Flint at the bar. She was relieved that there was no sign of Scorpius or Mariana, or Albus and James for that matter. She knew she would never get any guy's attention with Albus or James keeping watch over her.

The three women made their way over to the bar where a buff man with sandy blond hair was tending to the drinks.

"What can I get for ya, lovely?" he asked, directing his gaze at Lily. Lily blushed deeply and managed to cough out, "Just a butterbeer, please."

"Lily that bar tender was totally checking you out! I say go for it," Erica said, giggling. The bar tender returned with Lily's drink, setting it in front of her with a wink. Then he turned to Erica and Rose.

"And for the lovely lady's friends?" he inquired.

"I'll have a glass of firewhiskey," Rose said, pointing to the glasses behind the bar, "That glass."

"This one?" the bartender held up a glass that was about eight ounces tall, "Are you sure you can handle it?" he asked, unsure.

"Hell yeah. I'm ready to get hammered," Rose said daringly. The bartender looked at Lily and Erica. They shrugged. They'd both seen Rose drink much more than that. They'd just be sure to keep a sharp eye on her. The bar tender poured Rose's drink. After that he got an iced tea for Erica. She knew she would need a clear head if she wanted to get Rose safely back to the castle.

Rose was sipping delicately on her firewhiskey, not ready to get totally drunk yet, when Andrew Flint walked over from his seat at the other end of the bar. He sat down on the stool next to Rose.

"That's an awful lot of firewhiskey you've got there. Are you sure you can handle it?" he asked.

"Do you remember who I am, Flint?" Rose snorted, "Or have you forgotten that time I hexed your brains out. You had bats flying out of your nose for days," Rose was getting slightly intoxicated now, after having drunk about half her firewhiskey.

"I don't seem to remember that, perhaps you can refresh my memory while we dance," he said enticingly, his lips getting closer to her ear with each word he spoke. Rose, still in control of herself, gulped and looked behind her to Erica. She mouthed, "I'll keep my eye on you," and winked, knowing that a heated dance with the sexy Slytherin would get Rose's mind off of things. But she would make sure Andrew Flint didn't mess with her best friend.

"Very well. I hope you're ready to hear some – shocking – details," Rose whispered back huskily. Rose picked up her drink and downed the rest of it. Andrew held out his hand for her and she accepted, daintily hopping off her seat at the bar. He guided her out to the dance floor. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he put his arms snugly around her waist. Their bodies molded together and they both began to sway their hips naturally to the slow but steady beat of the music.

* * *

Erica sat at the bar, swirling her straw around in her iced tea. She was keeping a close eye on Rose and Andrew. She still didn't trust the man, but she would let Rose have her fun. She looked to her right and saw Lily flirting with the bar tender. Lily lightly put her hand on the bar tender's forearm as she opened her mouth to laugh. It seemed Erica was the only one of her friends who hadn't found a sexy someone to spend the evening with. She knew she shouldn't be bitter; the two needed it after all. Rose hadn't been out properly in ages. The last time they had gone out Rose had been the sober one who had to deal with all the drunks. And Lily was busy working long shifts as a healer at St. Mungo's. She sighed. She was happy for her friends, really.

Erica was so busy trying to dull her loneliness with a non-alcoholic iced tea that she didn't notice someone sneak up behind her.

"Boo!" Erica jumped in her seat and turned around only to find Albus Potter grinning madly behind her. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Ghosts don't say 'boo', you should know that Albus," Erica lectured. Ever since they had learned about Muggle perceptions of magical creatures in their Muggle Studies class, Albus had been scaring her with that one word.

"What are you doing here?" Erica asked wearily.

"I should be asking that of you! You go out without me and that bar tender is trying to get with my little sister and that Slytherin bastard is all over my cousin," Albus said angrily.

"Come on, Albus. Rose and Lily are grown women. They certainly don't need you to babysit them. Besides, I'm completely sober and I've been watching them," Erica replied.

"Alright," Ablus relented.

"Who are you here with, anyway?" Erica questioned.

"Scor and Mariana. Scor owled me asking if I wanted to get some drinks at The Fiery Dragon and he shows up with that bitch. I ditched them when I saw you," Al replied.

"Damn it Al! Rose and Scorpius should not be in the same room together! Crap, you need to go distract him. Make sure he doesn't see Rose. I brought her here to get him out of her head! Damn it!" Erica said hurriedly. She pushed Albus off his stool in the direction of Scorpius and Mariana. Albus held his hands up in surrender and hurried off to distract Scorpius.

"Christ I really am a good friend," Erica mumbled. "Bar tender! I need a shot of firewhiskey," she ordered.

* * *

Scorpius looked up when he noticed Al returning to the table. He couldn't believe that the bastard had left him alone with Mariana. Scorpius may be able to kiss dramatically and passionately proclaim his love for her on camera, but she really was a nightmare in real life. She always had to hang onto Scorpius' arm possessively and she had to know where he was at all times. It got old fast. But Al was back now, so he thought maybe he could get through the evening now. His best friend would help him get his mind off the woman who was still hanging onto his arm.

"Scor, I was just saying hi to Erica over there," Albus proclaimed upon sitting down in the booth.

"And the drinks?" Scorpius inquired, raising one aristocratic eyebrow and grinning slightly.

"Who needs alcohol? We can have a good time on our own!" Albus said, grinning in return. Scorpius thought his best friend looked a little off. Was that a bead of sweat on his forehead? It was hot in the club though, Scorpius supposed.

"Scorpius," Mariana interjected, "Let's dance."

"Hold on, Mariana," Scorpius said, "We just sat down. Let's talk for a while."

"But I'm bored," she pouted.

"Just a minute," Scorpius replied, proud of his calm tone. Mariana huffed and crossed her arms, turning away from him.

"So Al, how've you been?" Scorpius asked his friend.

"Eh, you know. The auror office is always busy. And without Rose there I've had to learn to work with a new partner. Extra training sessions all the time," Al responded, hoping his mention of Rose would go by unnoticed. He was wrong, though.

"She works at Hogwarts now. Does she like it?" Scorpius asked, managing to hide his emotion well. He was itching to ask why she wasn't working as an auror anymore, but he knew he didn't have any right to know.

"She's only been working there for two months, so I don't know if she's really formulated an opinion yet. I know she likes teaching her passion to the students. How's the movie coming along?" Al asked, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, as well as to be expected. We've begun surveying the castle, but I pretty much know where everything is," he said half smiling, thinking about his adventures with Albus and Rose, "Some of the crew is coming on Monday and we will start rehearsing then. We're spending the weekend getting to know the staff and the students and helping them feel comfortable with our presence. McGonagall suggested we throw a ball to celebrate the film in a few weeks. Could be fun," Scorpius finished.

"Invite me to that, mate. I know a certain professor I wouldn't mind dancing with," he said wistfully, looking over to where Erica was still seated at the bar.

"Mate, you've been in love with her for ages now. When are you going to ask her out?" Scorpius asked urgently.

"Come on, Scor. I've told you before. I don't want to mess up our friendship. Besides, I don't even think she takes me seriously," Albus said, his shoulders slumping.

"Bollocks. You're just a bloody coward," Scorpius said. The two then drifted into a comfortable silence, broken by Mariana.

"Now can we dance?" Mariana asked.

"Alright," Scorpius relented. The two got up and began to walk to the dance floor. Al realized too late that Rose was also on the dance floor. Unable to stop them without looking suspicious, he rushed back over to where Erica was seated.

* * *

Scorpius walked toward the dance floor with Mariana. The best part about The Fiery Dragon was that they kept the paparazzi out. It also meant that only high-profile people could get in, so celebrities weren't hounded with admirers. After the war, there had been a huge influx of Muggle products into the wizarding world. Muggle technology had been the most important. Cell phones, computers, television, and cars had all made their way into wizarding society. Scorpius' father had been smart enough to get over his prejudice and start doing business with the Muggles. Soon, Malfoy Enterprises had a monopoly on Muggle technology in the wizarding world and the already filthy rich Malfoys became even more loaded. It had also helped to boost his family's reputation after the war. Scorpius' father expected Scorpius to run the massive company. Draco was lenient with Scorpius' acting career, but he assumed Scorpius would return to the business world when the older Malfoy was ready to retire.

Scorpius' career was a direct result of this influx of Muggle technology after the war. The fledgling film industry was booming. Wizard movies were similar to Muggle movies but with a few special perks. Whether being viewed at a theater or at home, the movie would give the viewer surround sound, a 3-D option, different smells that were in the film, and also would cause the viewer to feel motions that were happening in the film. Muggles were able to do the same effects, but they needed more machines to do so and not as effectively. With magic, all that was needed to get the special effects was a copy of the film. A viewer truly felt like they were in the film. Scorpius had been fascinated with Muggle technology from the time he stepped into Hogwarts. Though his father made a huge profit off of it, he did not allow Muggle technology in the manor.

Scorpius was transported back to reality when he felt Mariana tug on his arm, again. He sighed and guided her to the dance floor. He put his arms lightly on her waist and she put her arms around her neck. He was sure to keep several inches between their midsections. He was trying to get into the rhythm of the music when he noticed a familiar head of long red hair. There was Rose, practically glued to some man. Upon closer inspection, Scorpius realized that it was Andrew Flint, the bastard who had always taunted them at Hogwarts. It brought back a memory…

_Gryffindor, led by Captain James Potter, had won the Quidditch Cup. As a result, a huge party was being thrown in the Gryffindor Common Room. Scorpius was sitting with Albus. Both were being congratulated on the victory. Scorpius was a chaser and Albus was a seeker for the team. James was pretty drunk already, but no one could blame him. He had finished out his seventh year as a champion. Scorpius had decided he didn't feel like getting drunk that night and resolved to stay sober. He was thinking about how he would keep an intoxicated Albus in order when he noticed a figure at the top of the stairs leading from the girl's dormitory. She was beautiful. She was dressed in edgy black ankle boots and was wearing black tights. Her red dress clung to her at all the right angles. His eyes continued to roam up her body, eventually making their way to her face. Her red, wavy hair framed it perfectly. Wait that was Rose! Scorpius thought that she was the most beautiful girl in the room, by far. Unfortunately, all the other Gryffindor males that weren't related to her thought so too. He looked over and saw Matthew Wood eyeing her up and down. Scorpius felt a bitter wave of jealousy go through him._

_ He watched as Rose made her way down the stairs and Wood came over to meet her at the bottom. God he wished he was the one meeting her at the stairs. He watched as Wood leaned down to kiss her hand. That romantic bastard._

"_Jealous much, mate?" he heard Al whisper._

"_Shut up!" Scorpius hushed him, "And for the record, no." But Albus knew that he was lying. Scorpius watched as Wood brought her to the middle of the Common Room where a bunch of couples were dancing. Soon, they were dancing together in a close embrace. Scorpius watched as they moved closer and closer together, their hips grinding together to the rhythm of the music. He watched Wood's hand slip lower and lower beyond Rose's waist and he couldn't take it anymore. Ignoring Albus' attempt to stop him, Scorpius got up and, even though he was completely sober, went over to where the two were dancing, pulled Wood off of her and punched him right in the nose._

Scorpius _knew_ he had no business with Flint and Rose. Rose had told him that after he had punched Wood. This time, he really had no business with Rose and the man she was dancing with. But Rose looked drunk, and Flint looked like the cat that had caught the canary. Letting his emotions get the better of him, and ignoring all common sense, he let go of Mariana and made his way across the dance floor to the pair.

* * *

"Albus, you had one job!" Erica shouted, "What do we do now?!"

"We watch and try to figure out what we should do for damage control, it's too late to stop him," Albus replied sullenly.

"In no way is it too late to stop him, you get your arse over there right now, Albus Potter," Erica ordered. Albus complied and began to hurry toward the two couples. Erica was right on his tail, ready to help Rose. But Albus was right, they were too late.

* * *

Scorpius walked right up behind Flint and ripped him off of Rose.

"You stay the bloody hell away from her!" he yelled.

"My, my, Malfoy, still fighting her battles I see," Flint chuckled.

"What the hell are you doing, Malfoy? You have no damn business here. Get back to your date," Rose shouted angrily, the alcohol diminishing any calmness she may have had.

"Rose! How can you dance with that bastard after everything he did to you?" Scorpius demanded.

"How the hell can you say that, after everything you did to me?" Rose threw back, "You know what, I'm just going to walk away."

Rose then proceeded to push her way angrily between Flint and Scorpius, but her foot got stuck between the other two bodies, causing her knee to twist. Before she had even registered what had happened, she was falling to the ground and into unconsciousness.

**Author's Note:**

I'm sorry to end on a slight cliffhanger. I couldn't resist. Besides, this chapter ended up a lot longer than I had expected it to. But that's okay, I am really proud of this chapter. I hoped you liked getting a little more insight into Al and Erica and their relationships with each other and the other characters. I think Al is fun to write. Anyways, I had fun writing this chapter and I hoped you have enjoyed reading it.

Thanks again for all the awesome reviews! I really appreciate it. I took your advice and added a line between scene changes/character perspectives. Please keep reviewing; I love the advice and support!

Until next time,

-_Pepsa_

P.S. – The next chapter will have a little more insight into the end of Rose's auror career, but only a little, can't give away everything yet.


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